In the realm of low budget filmmakers, Al Adamson, along with his partner, producer Sam Sherman, are gods among men. They created a wide variety of pictures, in just about every sub-genre out there, and made with more love than money. But they were entertaining, and always memorable. Perhaps their most memorable (and successful) film was 1971's Dracula vs. Frankenstein, in no small part thanks to the casting of a young, unknown actor in the iconic role of Dracula. Raphael Engel, rechristened Zandor Vorkov was a whole new kind of creatue of the night-longhaired, goateed, and able to shoot fire out of his ring, this was a brand-new Dracula for a brand-new age. Zandor's Dracula stalked across the screen of virtually every grindhouse and drive-in screen in America in the early 70s and then across every television screen in America for a couple of decades after that. While his Dracula was being elevated to pop culture celebrity, Zandor himself left the movie business and fell out of the public eye for decades. Go to a convention, and bring up Al Adamson, and someone would eventually say "I wonder what ever happened to Zandor Vorkov?"

Like any good vampire, he was just lying in the shadows, waiting to emerge anew!

And on this very special episode, we have asked Raphael to join us to and talk a little about himself, his time working with Adamson and Sherman, and his fascinating take on the horror fandom that he's only recently learned existed, but has embraced warmly.

You can check out Zandor's website by going to https://zandorvorkov.com or hitting him up on Facebook by clicking HERE.

And if you love Al Adamson and Sam Sherman, check out the next episode we're going to do, where we dig into three of our favorite films from them!

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), The Golem (1920), and Waxworks (1924).

In the very beginning of cinema, it was the German filmmakers who took cinema to the next level, even when it was still in its infancy. Creating strange angles, weird landscapes and buildings, and bizarre stories, these filmmakers gave audiences something completely new and different. It made such an impact, that it would inspire future filmmakers for generations to come.

While being silent, these films still created such haunting images, wild characters, and fantastical designs of the sets, that can still make an impact to today's modern audiences. When Discovering the Horror, it is always important to know how we got to where we are, and the German expressionist horror films of that era is a great place to start. If you want to scoff at silent cinema, then you are depriving yourself of some truly great pieces of art, and of history.

Films mentioned in this episode:

The Arrival of a Train (1896), The Bride of Frankenstein (1935), The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), Casablanca (1942), The Cat and the Canary (1927), The Devil and Daniel Webster, Dr. Caligari (1989), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920), Dracula (1931), Frankenstein (1931), The Golem (1915), The Golem (1967), The Golem (2018), The Golem; How He Came into the World (1920), The Golem and the Dancer (1917), The Great Train Robbery (1903), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939), It! (1967), Ivan the Terrible (1944), The Man Who Laughs (1928), The Mummy (1932), Nosferatu (1922), The Phantom of the Opera (1925), Son of Frankenstein (1939), The Unknown (1927), Waxworks (1924)

In the mid 1950's an overzealous witch hunt took place in the United States focused on the corrupting effects of comic books on young people, which ended in horror comics being banned from the shelves by a draconian comics code. But why? What did those comics contain that got people so riled up? Well, it depends on who you ask.

WE asked Dr. Dan Yezbick, a comics scholar, and he sparked a lively discussion. If you're only vaguely aware of this chapter of horror history, strap in, because pre-code horror is one of the more fascinating areas of the history of the genre.

Comics mention in this episode:

Adventure into Darkness, Adventures into the Unknown, Amazing Mysteries, Archies, Beware, Black Cat Mystery, Boris Karloff’s Tales of Mystery, Boris Karloff’s Thriller, Casper the Friendly Ghost, Chamber of Chills, City of the Living Dead, Creepy, Crypt of Terror, Dark Shadows, Dead of Night, The Dead That Walk, Eerie Comics, Eerie, Grimm’s Ghost Stories, Haunt of Fear, Horrific, House of Mystery, House of Secrets, Judgement Day, Master Race, Mister Mystery, Morbius, The Occult Files of Dr. Spector, Ripley’s Believe It or Not True Ghost Stories, Shock Suspense Stories, Skeleton Hand, Tales from the Crypt, Tales from the Tomb, Tales Too Terrible to Tell, Terror Tales, Tomb of Dracula, Tower of Shadows, Twilight Zone, Vault of Horror, Werewolf by Night, Witch Doctor